Sun shade



B. F. ROWE Nov. 15, 1966 5 UN 5 HADE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 12, 1964 ATTORNEYS B. F. ROWE SUN SHADE Nov. 15, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 12, 1964 1 IAIIII IIIIIl/l l/ K llllll I L 3 54 53 FIGIZ FIGJB INVENTOR BLAINE F. ROWE igwdfafi FIG. 8

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,285,260 SUN SHADE Blaine F. Rowe, 5031 Oliver Ave. 80., Minneapolis, Minn. Filed Nov. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 410,567 7 Claims. (Cl. 135-7.1)

The herein described invention relates to sun shades and particularly to a shade adapted to enclose substantially the entire bodies of one or more persons disposed therein and has for an object to provide a shade substantially spheroidal in form.

An object of the invention resides in providing a frame with a flexible covering attached thereto.

Another object of the invention resides in providing the frame for the sun shade with arcuate frame members hinged at their upper ends to a hinge structure and having spiked feet at their lower ends.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing spreaders for the frame members formed in two sections hinged together at their inner ends, the outer ends of said sections being hingedly connected to said frame members intermediate the ends thereof.

An object of the invention resides in making the spreaders arcuate and of substantially the same curvature as said frame members.

Another object of the invention resides in providing arcuate stays acting between said spreaders and hinge structure and holding the spreaders in extended position, said stays being detachably secured to the spreaders.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing a hinge for said spreaders having two pintles between the sections of said spreaders.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel construction and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter illustrated and/or described.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sun shade illustrating an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the hingle structure of the invention shown in FIG. 1 and drawn to a greater scale.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the structure shown in FIG. 3 and drawn to the same scale as FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of the hinge between the sections of the spreader and drawn to the same scale as FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of certain of the parts of the hinge shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the connection between the stay and the spreader taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 2 and drawn to a greater scale.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of one of the legs of the invention, partly in section, taken on line 88 of FIG. 2 and drawn to a greater scale.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional View of the leg of the sun shade taken on line 99 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line Iii-40 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 1111 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 5 and showing a modification of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view taken on line 1313 of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the sun shade collapsed.

The sun shade forming the subject matter of the instant invention consists of a frame A constructed mostly of metal tubing and a cover B constructed of some flexible material such as canvas or the like and supported on the frame A. These parts will now be described in detail.

The frame A comprises three frame members 20, 21 and 22 best shown in FIG. 2 and constructed of tubing. The upper portions 24 of these frame members are arcuate while the lower portions 25 are straight and are tangent to the upper portions. All three frame members are disposed in substantially vertical intersecting planes. The frame members 20 and 21 are disposed at the forward portion of the sun shade while frame member 22 is disposed at the rear of the sun shade. Frame members 20 and 21 lie substantially in a common plane.

Frame members 20, 21 and 22 are attached to a hinge structure 30 U-shaped in form best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and having two spaced plates 31 and 32 connected together by means of a connecting portion 33. The plates 31 and 32 are substantially horizontal and are disposed at the upper portion of the frame A with the connecting portion 33 parallel to the plane of the frame members 20 and 21 slightly forward thereof. The upper portion 24 of frame member 22 is disposed between the plates 31 and 32 and extends at right angles to the connecting portion 33 and rearwardly thereof. Rivets 34 extend through said plates and frame member and hold said frame member firmly attached to said hinge structure. In addition to the frame member 22, frame members 20 and 21 extend into the space between the plates 31 and 32 and are pivoted to said plates by means of rivets 35 and 36 which extend through said plates and frame members. These frame members are adapted to extend from positions shown in full lines in FIG. 3 to positions shown in dotted lines. For limiting the outward movement of these frame members, stops 37 are employed which issue outwardly from the ends of the connecting portion 33 and which have arcuate notches 38 therein adapted to receive the upper portions 24 of said frame members 20 and 21. The extreme rearward portions 39 of the plates 31 and 32 are bent over as best shown in FIG. 4 to more closely fit the frame member 22.

The frame members 20 and 22 and the frame members 21 and 22 are connected together by two arcuate spreaders 41 and 42 shown in FIGS. 1, 5, 6, 10 and 11. These spreaders are tubular and are made in two sections 44 and 45 hingedly connected together as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. At the adjoining ends of each section is disposed a fitting 47 having a head 48 and a shank 49. The shank 49 is inserted into the bore of the said sections and is secured thereto by means of rivets 51. The heads of said sections have longitudinal grooves 52 milled in the same which are disposed in alignment. A link 53 is received in these grooves and is pivoted thereto by means of rivets 54 extending through holes '56 in said fittings and holes 57 in said link. The heads 48 have curves at their outer ends as indicated at 58 and are provided with abutting shoulders 59. By means of this construction the two sections can be moved into parallelism or their movement arrested at alignment.

The other ends of the sections 44 are pivoted. relative to the frame member 22 by means of a construction shown in FIGS. 2 and 10. Attached to the frame member 22 intermediate its ends are spaced plates 61 which overlie the inner and outer surfaces of the same and which are secured thereto by means of rivets 62. The ends of the sections 44 of spreaders 41 and 42 are flattened and are disposed between the plates 61. Bolts 63 extend through said plates and the outer ends of the sections 44. The other ends of the sections 45 are attached to the frame members 20 and 21 by means of bolts 64 as shown in FIG. 11. By the construction disclosed, the sections of each spreader may be folded into parallelism to bring the frame member 20 and 21 into parallelism with frame member 22.

To hold the spreaders 41 and 42 from ijackknifing after erection, two arcuate stays 71 and 72 are employed. These stays are constructed of rod material and are formed with flattened portions 73 at their upper ends and received between the two plates 31 and 32. Rivets 74 extend through said portions and said plates and pivot said stays for swinging movement into parallelism with the frame member 22. Sleeves 75 on said rivets restrain axial movement of said stay-s relative to said plates and hold the outer surface of said stays adjacent the inner surface of the plate 31. As shown in FIG. 7, the ends 77 of said stays are adapted to enter holes 78 in the sections 44 of the spreaders 41 and 42 and engage the wall of said section opposite said holes. By this means the spreaders are held from jackknifing.

In FIGS. 12 and 13 a modification of the structure shown in FIGS. and -6 has been shown. Due to the similarity of the construction the same reference numerals will be used to designate identical parts and the descrip tion thereof will not be repeated. In this construction, the fittings 47 are dispensed with and instead heads 81 are formed at the ends of sections 44 and 45 by flattening out the ends of said sections and milling through the walls of the flattened ends to form the slots 52 and which receive the links 53.

The lower portions 25 of the frame members 20, 21 and 22 are provided with extensions 101 shown in FIGS. 2 and 8 which have their upper ends 102 reduced to snuggle fit into the bores 26 of said frame members. Annular springs 103 are disposed in said reduced ends and which have catches 104 secured thereto. These catches are slidably supported in sockets 105 and 106 in the extensions 101 and frame members 20, 21 and 22. These catches are adapted to be urged into the sockets 106 formed in the lower portions of said frame members by means of the springs 103. The extensions 101 have shoes 108 at the lower ends thereof adapted to rest on the ground and spikes 109 extending outwardly from said shoes. The shoes 108 have shanks 111 which are forced into the bores 112 of said extensions.

In addition to the extensions 101, other extensions 113 are employed which are similar to the extensions 101 except that they are small enough in diameter to be received into the bores 26 of the frame members 20, 21 .and 22. These extensions are preferably shorter than the extensions 101; In these extensions the shoes 108 and spikes 109 are omitted, permitting the same to be used in sand or on the beach. These extensions also have the catches 104, the same as the extensions 101.

The covering B may be formed from any desirable flexible material such .as fabric or sheet material of some suitable plastic. The material is cut into segments and secured together with seams, not shown. At the localities of the frame members 20, 21 and 22, hems 91 are formed which receive said frame members. In addition, other hems 92 are provided which receive the spreaders 41 and 42. e

In assembling the structure for the first time, the bolts 63 and 64 are taken out and the two spreaders 41 and 42 removed. In the upper portion of the covering B is formed a placket 93 which facilitates threading the frame members when folded up into the hems 91. A snap fastener 94 closes said placket when the covering is in place. The frame members 20 and 21 are now swung away from the frame member 22 towards their ultimate positions. Spreaders 41 and 42 in extended positionare now threaded into the hems 92 and the bolts 63 and 64 replaced to attach said spreaders to the frame members. Stays 71 and 72 as shown in FIG. 7 are now inserted through grommets 95 in the hems 92 of the covering and into the holes 78 in the spreaders as shown in FIG. 7 to hold the parts assembled. The length of the material forming the cover B is just short enough to cause stretching thereof when the stays are applied to the spreaders whereby the parts are maintained assembled.

To collapse the sun shade after assembly, it is not necessary to remove the spreaders. Merely discon- 5 nect the stays and start breaking the joint between the sections of the spreaders. This will cause the frame members 20 and 21 to move toward the frame member 22 and the sections 44 and 45 while in the hems 92 to move toward each other. All of the .parts including the covering will then move into a compact bundle as shown in FIG. 14.

The advantages of the invention are manifest. The sum shade can be made large enough to house one or more people and will procure more shade than the conventional umbrella. The device can be constructed at a nominal cost. No planting of an umbrella pole in the ground is necessary and the inconvenience of the umbrella pole in the center of the shaded space to eliminated. The device can be completely collapsed to occupy a relativel small space and the covering removed for wash- 4 ing if desired.

Changes in the specific formof the invention, as herein described, may be made within the scope of what is claimed with-out departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

What is claimed is:

1. A sun shade comprising:

(a) a frame including,

(b) a hinge structure,

(c) a number of elongated arcuate frame members arranged in vertical planes with their upper ends hingedly connected to said hinge structure,

(d) ground-engaging means on the lower ends of said frame members,

(e) spreaders between said frame members arcuate in form and constructed in two sections,

(f) hinge means between the adjoining ends of said sections,

(g) other hinge means between the outer ends of said sections and said frame members and (h) arcuate stays pivoted to said hinge structure at their upper ends and connected to said spreaders at their lower ends and (i) a cover overlying certain of said frame members and said stays and secured to certain of said frame members and spreaders.

2. A sun shade comprising:

(a) a frame including,

(b) a U-shaped hinge structure having two spaced plates,

(c) a number of elongated arcuate frame members having one end of each disposed between said plates,

(d) ground engaging means at the other ends of said frame members,

(e) spreaders between said frame members and connected to said frame members for movement relative thereto,

(f) a number of arcuate stays each having one end disposed hetween the plates of said hinge structure and the other ends engaging said spreaders,

(g) pintles extending through the plates of said hinge structure and the ends of certain of said frame members and stays and (h) a cover overlying certain of said frame members and said stays and secured to certain of said frame members and spreaders.

3. A sun shade having an interior chamber open at the front thereof, said sun shade comprising:

(a) a frame including,

(h) a U-shaped hinge structure having two spaced plates with a connecting portion therebetween, said hinge structure being disposed with the connecting portion .at the front of the frame and the space between said plates being open on the sides and at the rear thereof,

(c) a number of elongated arcuate frame members having one end of each disposed between said plates,

(d) ground enga-ging means at the other ends of said frame members,

(e) spreaders between said frame members and connected to said frame members for movement relative thereto,

(f) a number of arcuate stays each having one end disposed between the plates of said hinge structure and the other ends engaging said spreaders,

(g) pintles extending through the plates of said hinge structure and the ends of certain of said frame members and stays and (h) a cover overlying certain of said frame members and said stays and secured to certain of said frame members and spreaders.

4. A sun shade comprising:

(a) a frame including,

(b) a U-shaped hinge structure having two spaced plates with a connecting portion therebetween, said hinge structure being disposed with the connecting portion at the front of the frame providing a space between said plates open on the sides and at the rear thereof,

() a number of elongated arcuate frame members arranged in vertical planes with their upper ends hingedly connected to said hinge structure,

(d) ground-engaging means on the lower ends of said frame members,

(e) spreaders between said frame members and connected to said frame members for movement relative thereto,

(f) a number of arcuate stays each having one end disposed between the plates of said hinge structure and the other ends engaging said spreaders,

(g) pintles extending through the plates of said hinge structure and the ends of certain of said frame members and stays,

(h) said frame members and stays extending outwardly from the open portions of the space between said plates at the sides and rear of the hinge structure and (i) a cover overlying certain of said frame members and said stay and secured to certain of said frame members and spreaders.

5. A sun shade having an interior chamber and comprising:

(a) a frame including,

(b) a U-shaped hinge structure having two spaced plates with a connecting portion therebetween, said hinge structure being disposed with the connecting portion at the front of the frame providing a space between said plates open on the sides and at the rear thereof,

(c) a number of elongated arcuate frame members arranged in vertical planes with their upper ends hingedly connected to said hinge structure,

(d) ground-engaging means on the lower ends of said frame members,

(e) arcuate spreaders between said frame members and connected to said frame members for movement relative thereto,

(f) a number of arcuate stays each having one end disposed between the plates of said hinge structure and the other ends engaging said spreaders,

(g) pintles extending through the plates of said hinge structure and the ends of certain of said frame members and stays,

(h) said frame members and stays extending outwardly from the open portions of the space between said plates at the sides and rear of the hinge structure and (i) a cover overlying certain of said frame members and said stays and secured to certain of said frame members and spreaders,

(j) all of said frame members, spreaders and stays being disposed with the convex portions thereof facing away from the interior chamber of the sun shade.

6. A sun shade having an interior chamber open at the front thereof, said sun shade comprising:

(a) a frame including,

(b) a hinge structure at the top and front of the sun shade,

(c) a number of elongated arcuate frame members arranged in vertical planes with their upper ends hingedly connected to said hinge structure,

(d) ground-engaging means on the lower ends of said frame members,

(e) spreaders between said frame members and connected to said frame members for movement realtive thereto,

(f) a number of arcuate stays pivoted at their upper ends to said hinge structure and connected to said spreaders at their lower ends and (g) a cover overlying certain of said frame members and attached to other of said frame members and to said spreaders.

7. A sun shade having an interior chamber open at the front thereof, said sun shade comprising:

(a) a frame including,

(b) a hinge structure at the top and front of the sun shade,

(c) three arcuate elongated frame members arranged in vertical planes with the upper ends of two of said frame members hingedly connected to said hinge structure,

(d) means for rigidly connecting the other frame member to said hinge structure,

(e) ground-engaging means on the lower ends of said frame members,

(f) two of said frame members being disposed at the front of the sun shade and the other at the rear of the sun shade,

(g) two arcuate spreaders disposed between said front frame members and said rear frame members,

(h) two arcuate stays pivoted to said hinge structure and connected to said spreaders and (i) a cover overlying certain of said frame members and said stays and secured to certain of said frame members 'and spreaders.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,504,889 8/1924 Hansen -4 2,530,765 11/1950 Green-up 135-4 2,547,770 4/1951 Pelton 135-5 2,623,532 12/1952 McGanty 135-1 2,969,075 1/1961 Girten 1357.1 X 3,010,464 11/1961 Moss 1357.1 X 3,121,439 2/1964 Moltchan 1357.1

HARRISON R. -MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

L. I. SANTISI, W. E. HEATON, A. I. BREIER,

Assistant Examiners. 

1. A SUN SHADE COMPRISING: (A) A FRAME INCLUDING, (B) A HINGE STRUCTURE, (C) A NUMBER OF ELONGATED ARCUATE FRAME MEMBERS ARRANGED IN VERTICAL PLANES WITH THEIR UPPER ENDS HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO SAID HINGE STRUCTURE, (D) GROUND-ENGAGING MEANS ON THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID FRAME MEMBERS, (E) SPREADERS BETWEEN SAID FRAMES MEMBERS ARCUATE IN FORM AND CONSTRUCTED IN TWO SECTIONS, (F) HINGE MEANS BETWEEN THE ADJOINING ENDS OF SAID SECTIONS, 